Yajiru! I got you! Zutto...
by Campino
Summary: Happy Halloween, minna-san! Yup, a Halloween fic! Cute, a little bit of sap, a little bit of romance, and a bit of Haloween horror. Not a really serious story, just for holiday entertainment! Enjoy!


Who Are You (halloween)2 ****

Yajiru!! I Got You…Zutto!

By: Sorano

A/N: So I've been bitten by the Halloween bug, it just happens to be my favorite holiday. So here's a little sweetness for you all to get through the cold days. Mostly WAFF, I've changed time to make the group about in the fourth grade range. I know the cast of CCS is pretty young to begin with, but this story just wouldn't work at their present age. It does get a little gory later on, I don't really have a sick mind, it's just I've seen a lot a Halloween movies lately and it just came out. I wasn't able to write anything scary, just a little sick. It's a good story though! If you're not bored, you'll like it! I promise! BTW, this is AU and fusion. I've messed up time but I did manage to keep everyone in character! This is kind of long, but I didn't feel like chaptering it, so read it when you have time, k?

Disclaimer: CCS does not belong to me. You all know that! Also, the two below songs aren't mine, but I did translate them. Translation at end of fic.

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"Kor'desu Harouxi-n, o sono ranpu awai desu. Araundo sono kasai, chin kodomo o chiten. To-ku konpaku konto o bitto bai bitto, kanire shisuta Jaianou…"

"Roku kinshou o ato seki sekiaru. Sono ichiban o zenki, 'Ara, sore choudaisu jikangai desu.' Sono niban zenki,'Soko majo o sono tei.' Sono sanban zenki, 'datte watashi-tachi ne kea." 

"Quiet kaijuu," Touya Kinomoto growled from the dimly lit family room. "I've got exams tomorrow."

"Kaijuu ja na! Sakura isn't a monster!!" The little girl giggled. "Sakura-chan just loves Halloween! Ne, oniichan?" 

"Iie, sou otonagenai." 

"Geretsu! You're wrong oniichan!"

"Am I? Besides, kaijuu," Sakura glowers, "Halloween ain't till tomorrow."

Sakura skipped around the room, and in a sing, song voice, 'Tomorrow, tomorrow, I can't wait until tomorrow!"

"Get to bed, Sakura!" Living with his sister's boundless energy could be very tiring.

"Nu-unh! I don't wanna!"

Touya leapt off the couch, his textbooks crashing to the floor. He snatched the witch hat off his imouto's head and grabbed her broom. "If you be a good girl and go to bed, I won't tell Otousan who ate all of pumpkin pie." 

"Mou, oniichan, it was so good!" She raced up the stairs anyway, her long cape flowing behind her. And when she disappeared, Touya would swear he could still hear her voice complaining to someone.

* * *

"Alalalaahhalala," Sakura sung to herself as she swung the door open. "Tomoyo-chan! Ohayo!" 

"O-hayooo!" Tomoyo smiled, always happy to see her spirited friend.

"Iru onegaishimasu," Sakura invited her friend in, producing an extra pair of slippers. The two girls scampered upstairs to Sakura's room, with a warning from Touya that he just might leave without them.

"What are you being for Halloween, Tomoyo-chan?"

Sakura asked the girl for the hundreth time. "A beautiful princess. Okaasan had a really nice dress made for me." Tomoyo fingered the pink-laced quilt, hoping not to upset the girl who was still learning to live without her own mother.

Sakura swallowed hard, wishing away unpleasant emotions. Life is too short to be sad. "I know you'll make the most perfect princess. And you know I'm being a witch, of course. Have you finished my costume?"

"Of course, silly. But Sakura-chan, you're much too sweet to be a witch. I think an angel costume would look so kawaii on you!"

"Ne, Tomoyo-chan! I'm evil!" Sakura stood upon her bed and bared her claws. Sakura hoped the other children didn't think of her too good. Halloween was the perfect opportunity for her to show her bad side.

"Come down, Sakura-chan. We have to get ready quickly. Remember the party?"

Sakura pushed her legs out, landing on the bed with a thud. "Kashin!!! Fun!" She stuck her head on the bed, poking around for something. "Oi, here it is!" She showed Tomoyo the plastic container. "Oniichan bought this for me last week." 

"Kakkoii! Is that fact blood? Eww!"

"Yup, want some?" Sakura pretended to drink the packet.

"Gross, Sakura-chan. Besides, I'm a delicate princess. I don't associate with blood."

"'ssioate?" Sakura snickered. "Hey, Tomoyo-chan, get into your costume and I'll make you all pretty, ok?"

The two girls began to change, not caring the least for modesty. Sakura's costume was rather simple, something Tomoyo-chan had crafted for her from a store-bought kit. Long black silk with a purple scarf, rope belt, cape, black pointed hat. Tomoyo wore a long pink dress with a silk chain, framed with white lace, and a jeweled crown upon her night-dark hair.

"I'm going to do you're make-up now, Tomoyo-chan," Sakura said and seated her friend in front of her vanity. "Close your eyes, ok?"

"Hai. But don't do anything too silly, Sakura-chan. I'm not being the vampire princess."

"Iie, I know. I'm going to make you way pretty," Sakura blushed. "Not that you aren't pretty already." Tomoyo blushed too. Now at Sakura's young age, she didn't have much experience with make-up, but did do a fair job. Pastel colors created if not realistic, at least archetypal princess, with pink cheeks, bright blue eyes and ruby red lips. Tomoyo suspected she might have over-done it with the powder, but she didn't say a word.

When it was Tomoyo's turn to be the artist, she painted long green strokes on Sakura's face, trademark of the witch. Next came yellow, sunken eyes and black lips. "Ara, will your Otousan let us out of the house like this, Sakura-chan?" 

Sakura giggled. "Otousan will understand. He's very sweet. I think Oniichan will get mad though," in her head she imagined Oniichan get very large and yelling at her.

"Why does your Oniichan get so upset when you do stuff, Sakura-chan?" Tomoyo asked, for once trying to puzzle out Touya Kinomoto. "Last week when we came home late from school he looked like he was going to kill you, then he just walked away. Maybe he was worried."

"I don't know. Oniichan is mean. He likes picking on me."

"I think he's afraid, Sakura-chan. Can't you see?"

Sakura brushed these comments aside and placed her friend in front of the mirror. "What do you think, Tomoyo-chan? Do we look good or what?" 

"Ter-rific!"

"Sakura-chan! I'm leaving!" Touya yelled up the stairs. 

"Mou, don't go!" Sakura grabbed her friend's hand and raced down three flights of stairs to where her Otousan was waiting with a paper bag. "Arigato! Ittemariimasu!"

"Itterashai! You look very cute today, Sakura-chan! Tomoyo-chan!"

"Arigato!"

* * *

Tomoeda Elementary was bustling with little ghosts, witches, and princesses, goblins and the like. During the night the teachers had transformed the school, draping the building with black and orange crepe paper. Fake cobwebs clung to the walls with enormous spiders. Coffins were set up in the halls and spooky music played softly all day. The children loved it.

Sakura and Tomoyo, having been dropped off by Touya and Yukito, made their way to their fourth grade classroom. "Ohayo, sensei," they chorused before joining their friends. 

"Late again, girls," stated Terada-sensei, but he smiled. "I see it was well worth it. "

Sakura had a hard time finding who her friends were under all the costumes, and no one was willing to reveal their identity until they'd been guessed. The angel was definitely Rika-chan, with a golden halo and long white wings. The small girl under a white sheet was Naoko-chan, that was for sure. Tomoyo uncovered the jester to be Yamazaki-kun, and the silly rabbit was Chiharu, with bright pink and black painted over here face.

Eriol also joined them five minutes later, dressed as a handsome knight. "Oh, wow, Hiirigazawa-kun! A knight! Where did you get this costume?"

"Nakuru-chan helped me make it," he answered, remembering how diligently his guardian had sewn the pieces together. And it was a brilliant costume with silver chain-mail, a long flowing cape, a protective mask and a real sword, which the teacher forbid him to remove the sheath.

"Here's your princess," Sakura led him to where Tomoyo sat, feasting on chocolate. The girl looked up in surprise.

"Ahh, fair maiden, I, a gallant knight, am here to serve and protect you." He took her gloved hand in his own and gently kissed it.

Tomoyo blushed; unaware a little boy could be such a big flirt. Giggle. "My handsome knight, serve me well and protect the land!"

"Always, princess." 

The two children laughed and went off to talk, Sakura becoming very suspicious of how much time they were spending together lately. 

Sakura couldn't help but giggle when a large, orange circle wobbled up behind them and sat in Syaoran's desk. Judging by the yellow lines painted on the costume, Sakura guessed he was supposed to be a jack o' lantern. "Li-kun? Is that you in there?"

"It's all I could find, okay? I didn't know I needed a costume until last night and Wei and I searched the whole city!" 

Sakura could see his trademark frown through the costume. His amber eyes through the holes appeared to be glaring, but Sakura could see hurt and embarrassment through them. "It's alright, Li-kun. I think you look really cute. You don't have to worry about looking silly. By the way, where's Mei-ling-chan?"

"Uhhh, don't ask. She didn't need to where a costume. Just you wait and see what she dressed up as." 

As if on cue, the little Chinese girl bounded into the room, surprising everyone. Her hair was now up in a golden headdress and she was adorned in silver jewelry, Sakura wondered if it was real. She was wearing a short metallic skirt, black and a golden sleeveless top, adorned with jewelry. She was struggling to walk in tall high-heels. Big hoops dangled from newly pierced red ears. "Ohayo!" she cried.

"Ohayo goziamimasu," Terada-sensei looked her up and down, not sure if the outfit, very skimpy, was appropriate for a seven -year-old girl. "What are you supposed to be, Mei-ling-chan?" 

"Ano..sensei, I'm Cleopatra."

"Ara, does your guardian know you're wearing this."

Mei-ling blushed. "Of course! Mei-ling likes her outfit!" With that Mei-ling stomped away, not liking people implying she was a little girl when most of the time she felt so grown-up.

"Nice costume, Mei-ling-chan," Sakura greeted the girl. "And you, Kinomoto-san," Mei-ling tried to avoid gushing over the other girls' costumes. "Well, I certainly look nicer than my Syoaran-kun!" Mei-ling proceeded to glomp her fiancé.

"Class!" Mr. Terada was trying to get their attention. "Class! Listen up! I want to explain what we'll be doing today!" On the board he outlined the days activities, and when each class would be doing what. "Remember, the sixth graders are doing this all for us, so we have a surprise planned for them at the end of the day, alright? Did everyone bring their candy?"

"Hai!" The class chorused, causing their teacher to grin. "What a good group of children you are. Okay, so we're off to the Haunted House, are we?" "Kashin!" The children raced to the door, which was difficult for some of them, namely Syaoran.

* * *

The senior class had been working on the Haunted House for some time now and had done an extremely good job. Of course, it didn't take much to scare Sakura. She spent the whole time through with her hand clamped into Syaoran's. The Chinese boy insisted he stay with her in case something went wrong, as things had been tending to do lately.

"Kinomoto-san," Syaoran gritted his teeth.

"Hoe?"

"Can you please loosen your grip? These squashy arms of mine ain't so strong."

"Oi, gomen nasai."

The pitch-black room suddenly lit up in a corner, where a large werewolf howled. Blood red eyes glared at them and it advanced forward. 

"Nani!" Sakura cried, holding her friend's hand. "Run, Li-kun!"

"Would you relax? It's only a robot. The sixth graders rented them, remember? We saw the trucks."

Sakura didn't loosen her grip, but she continued onto the next where, walking through a million sticky strands. "Hoe! Eww!"

"Spider webs! It's just crazy string, Kinomoto-san! Calm down!" He had never met such a hyperactive girl before.

"Iie! There's something crawling on me! Oh, it's a spider! Get off, get off!" Sakura was wailing by now, flaing her arms around, entangling herself in the web.

"Come on!" Syaoran motioned for her to leave the web, since he was already out.

"I can't! I'm caught!" No matter how hard Sakura struggled, she couldn't escape the sticky bonds. Syaoran reached for her hands, but he couldn't pull her out. 

"Nani? What the heck? Something bit me, Kinomoto-san. You're right, something is on there!"

Terrified, Sakura could hear jaws clamping and she imagined a huge tarantula eating her for it's dinner. 

"Hold on!" Syaoran called out his sword, praying he would be able to see in this darkness and not cut his friend open. And with a few simple slices Sakura was out, safely away from whatever was behind them. 

After walking a little bit Sakura spoke the obvious. "Have you noticed, Li-kun? There's no one else here. I know people went in before us and some people went after us, but I haven't seen anyone in awhile. Do you think…"

"They must've taken a different turn," Syaoran replied sensibly. "It's easy to get lost in this place, so hold onto my hand, okay?"

Sakura nodded, not realizing he couldn't see her. 

"Kinomoto-san?"

"Hai?"

"None of this is real, remember." Syaoran was being very brave for a kid his age and didn't know that Sakura admired him for it. Though it was hard to look heroic in a pumpkin costume.

They walked up a flight of stairs, ducking from a flutter of hairy wings, prepared to face whatever came next together. The next room they entered was a torture chamber, smelling strongly of what they could only describe as blood. "Gross, the sixes went all out for this, didn't they?" Syaoran muttered, knowing it was sheep's blood when his hands dipped in a bucket of it.

A black light dimmed on, giving them a glimpse of a man lying on bed, screaming for his life. Sakura backed away, unable to stand people in pain. Syaoran protectively put an arm around her. Another man entered the room, black mask pulled over his face. He walked to stand next to the prisoner and raised a glinting axe. 

Sakura screamed. "It's not real! They're actors or robots, Kinomoto-san!"

The executioner looked to them. "Managed to get out of your cells, huh? Don't worry. This is coming to you soon enough!"

"Iie!" Sakura cried, burying her head in Syaoran's round foamy shoulders. 

"Listen," Syaoran said to the man with less confidence than he felt. "This supposed to be fun, but you're scaring my friend."

The man laughed a terrible laugh of perpetual suffering.

"That's no student," Sakura shuddered. "And he's no robot."

As the executioner reached for Sakura and Syaoran was about to draw his sword the lights went out again, and all was silent. The two children ran, just wanting to get out of the house.

Cackling followed them, howls and shrieks. By the time a grinning skeleton popped out, Syaoran was crying almost as hard as his girlfriend was. "Leave us alone!" he yelled, brushing the skeleton aside.

"Nu-uh," the skeleton rasped. And long red lines appeared along Sakura's arms, beginning to bleed. 

"Li-kun! I'm bleeding!" And indeed she was. Red liquid gushed from her wrists, staining her costume. "Stop! Stop it!"

"it's ketchup, Kinomoto-san. Just ketchup." But it wasn't. It was real.

Glaring at the skeleton, Syaoran tore a bit of material off his costume and wrapped around Sakura's arms. "Let's get out of here!"

Sakura nodded numbly, wanting nothing more.

They thought the worst was over, really they did. They could see the red glow of the exit sign up ahead. 

The stench of blood become unbearable and Sakura soon felt something squishy under the feet. "What's that?" she whispered into the darkness. "There's something below me."

"Forget it," Syaoran growled, not wanting to know. Whatever it was, it would probably destroy the little girl. Whoever designed this haunted house had a sick mind. This place was meant for little children after all!

"Light card," Sakura summoned it with a shaky breath. "Can't you hear it, Li-kun? OH, God, something's _crying. Mewing._"

Syaoran had to admit he could hear it too. It sounded like a cat. "Okay, let's see it."

Light looked sympathetic at her mistress, already knowing what was to be revealed, but did as she was commanded. Her presence reveled a shredded up bloody mess of fur, bones, and flesh. 

"Hoe?" Sakura bent closer, unsure of what she was seeing. "Those…those aren't kittens. Li-kun, these are torn up, ripped up, kitties!" Sakura burst into tears, backing away ever slowly from the dead animals. 

Syaoran turned away from her and promptly threw up, a disgraceful act for a Li, but nothing uncommon of a disturbed child.

Sakura went over to him and hugged him. The two wanted just to sit there together, huddling and taking solace in the only humanity around. Just wanted to cry…To scream…There was no escape…They'd go insane in there. The two wrapped there arms around each other, protecting each other from the madness.

A low growl was heard from the far corner of the room where the tiny bodies lay, lapping up what could only be blood. Syaoran bit back more bile, while Sakura moaned. 

"No, not more! Please! I don't want to see whatever it was that killed those kittens!" Syaoran clamped a sweaty hand over Sakura's mouth.

"Shh, don't let it here you!"

It was too late. The thing was already approaching them, claws scratching the wooden surface. It let out a loud mew, also a cat, terrifying the children even more. How could it kill it's own kind. Perhaps it's children?

Syaoran leapt to his feet, pulling Sakura up. "We have to get out of here! Come on! The exit is straight ahead!"

It seemed they ran for miles, hearing the cat snarl and give chase, would they never reach the exit? When all seemed hopeless, no close to the exit sign from when they started, the room was flooded with bright lights.

They ran straight into a hard body which grabbed them. 

"No! Let go!"

"Li-kun? Kinomoto-san? Are you two alright?"

The children looked up into the concerned face of their kind teacher, Terada-sensei. He bent down to their level and Sakura threw her arms around him, nearly hysterical. "Kinomoto-san? What happened? It was just a fun house?" Terada was confused; none of the other children came out looking like this. Most of the complained how lame and boring it was, but these two looked like they had a real fright.

"It was horrible sensei! This manwaskilledandthismanandaspidercaughtinit'swebsogrossand…and….and…," Sakura shuddered, tears rolling down her powder-pressed cheeks. "And there..were…little…kittens…and…they…they were all torn up and there was blood everywhere."

"My God, are you sure child? Poor thing. Calm down. You're okay now." He signaled to a sixth-grade passing by. "You there! Come here!"

The boy stepped over to them, a bag of candy in his arms. "Sensei? What's wrong? What happened to the little kids?"

"That's what I wanted to know. Kinomoto-san, hold out your arm."

Sakura did so promptly, removing the blood-soaked cloth. The wounds had stopped bleeding, but fresh scars remained.

The boy's gaze widened. "Sensei, there was nothing in that house that could've harmed anyone. We made sure of it. Kodomo, what did this to you?"

"A skeleton. Knife," stammered Sakura.

"A plastic skeleton? Impossible! Terada-sensei, I swear we put nothing dangerous in there."

"What about the blood? This girl says there was real blood in there, staining the wall, and little mangled kittens. She says there were real spiders on your webs."

"The blood was ketchup, we had no cats, and the spiders were plastic from the dollar store."

"She says someone chased her."

"What the hell?"

"Don't swear."

"Gomen, if you'll come with me." The boy motioned to the house. "We can go see what's in there.'

Terada nodded. He grabbed a flashlight and knife, concerned for the safety of his students. Though Tomoeda was a very safe area, madmans could hide out anywhere. "Kinomoto-san, Li-san," he pointed to the picnic tables set up in the basketball courts. "Your classmates are over there. I'll get to the bottom of this and join you in a bit."

Sakura's eyes widened. "Don't go in there!" 

Terada frowned. "It's fine, Sakura." What could've scared this girl so much? "Hiirigazawa-san!" He motioned for the knight to come over. 

"Sensei? What's wrong?"

"Kinomoto-san and Li-san had a bit of a scare. Would please take them over to get some cider? Oh, and take Kinomoto-san to first aid so she can get her cuts fixed up." 

"Hai."

Eriol wrapped his arm around Sakura, getting some glares from Syaoran. "It's all right, Sakura-chan," he reassured her.

"Perhaps you went to far this time," a quiet voice whispered from his backpack so only he could hear. 

"Maybe you're right, Spinel. I never meant for anyone to get hurt."

"Hmmm, what do you mean then?"

* * *

After a while Sakura calmed down. Eriol personally bandaged her arms for her, going gently with the antiseptic, while Syaoran stood in protective watch. He led them over to the snack tables, where each of them where given a glass of apple cider.

Sakura's friends quickly rushed over. "Where have you been Sakura-chan? Li-kun?" "We thought you were right behind us…" "We kept hearing screaming coming from the Haunted House." "You were in there a long time." "Did you know Haunted House were believed to be portals to Hell and other demon worlds, maybe…" that last line was Yamazaki, of course.

Sakura shook her friends off, though pleased to see they worried about her. "We're fine," she smiled quickly not to worry anyone. "Something weird happened in there that scared us, but we're okay."

Tomoyo couldn't miss the haunted look in Sakura's eyes and made a mental note to talk to her about it later. "Oi, Sakura-chan! We're going to bob for apples now! You have to come! It's really fun! And it's candy apples, really sweet and hard enough to break your teeth!" "Oishii!" The little girls giggled and ran off to the other end of the courtyard. 

Normally Syaoran would have rolled his eyes, refusing to partake in such a silly activity, but now he was only happy to see the cherry blossom smiling again. What a scary experience they had! He hadn't been sure what kind of affect it would have on Sakura, but it seemed she had come through again.

Syaoran felt the presence behind him long before it spoke. "Was it really bad?" 

The boy whipped around, quick reflexes showing years of training. No surprise he was faced by the dark-haired knight, Eriol Hiirigazawa. Why was the boy flushing? "Huh?"

"I asked if it was really bad?" Could it be Eriol was sincere? He looked like such a little boy.

"Yes," Syaoran snarled, somehow knowing right away this kid was behind his hour of grief. "Yes, it was. If you must know it scared the shit out of me, okay? So you've had your fun, now leave me and my friends alone. If you ever even think of laying another hand of my koishii, I will personally beat the shit out of you, got it?"

Syaoran had to admit, when he gathered the nerve to look the boy in the eyes, Eriol's blue eyes were filled with sadness. "I'm sorry you feel this way, Li-kun. I wish we could be friends."

"How can we be friends!?" Syaoran threw his arms out to the sides. "You tried to kill my koishii!" 

"Never. I will never harm Kinomoto-san."

Eriol turned on his heel and walked off, only saying, "go join in the activities, Li-kun. It will be good for you. It may be a while before you get the opportunity to be a child again."

Syaoran stood there for several minutes, dumbfounded. The nerve of that guy! Maybe people talked like that in England but he'd be damned if someone acted like that here and got away with that. 

* * *

"Now, bend lower, Sakura-chan," Kaho was saying, keeping a careful eye on the girl. "You've almost got it! Carefully clamp your teeth! Yes, that's the stem! Now bring it up! Careful!"

All the children applauded when Sakura's head was raised with a shiny red apple bobbing by her chin.

Sakura joined her friends who'd gone before her and took a big bit of the fruit. "Itai!!! I think I broke a ooth!" 

"Say what, Sakura-chan?"  
"A tooth! Itai!!"

The other girls laughed. "I told you it was hard," Tomoyo lectured. "Take little easy bites. It lasts longer that way, anyway."

Sakura took her friend's advice, savoring the sweet cinnamony taste. "Oishii! These are good! I'm going to get another one!" Sakura clambered to her feet, wanting to take the strong jaw test again.

"Li-kun?" Sakura saw the boy leaning glumly on the apple pool. "Are you going to bob for an apple? They're really good! It's fun! I'll cheer you on," Sakura awarded him with one of her sweetest smiles.

"Nah," Syaoran dug his heel into the cold dirt below. His eyes seem fixated on the ground. Soft, hard, cold, warm. Dark filling earth. Covering him, shielding him from humanity. Someday he would be under there. Six feet under approximately. What was it like? Suppose he woke like a vampire? Would he claw his way to the top, lungs burning for air? But he was dead…What was it like to die? Would it hurt? Suppose it was a gentile release? Oh, what did it matter? The earth was cold, foreboding he did not want to be there. He wanted to be by Sakura where it was warm.

"Are you warm, Sakura-chan?" The words just slipped out, without any meaning.

"Hoe?" He could see the girl was quite taken back. "Hai, I'm just right, Li-kun. And you called me, Sakura again."

Syaoran blushed, knowing he had slipped. "Ano, gomen nasai, Kinomoto-san."

"No, it's alright! I like it! Ano, would you like a candy apple?" Sakura held the uneaten fruit in front of him. "Or would you rather bob for your own?"

Bright red, Syaoran accepted the gift. "Arigato, Sa…Sakura-chan." He smiled. He felt good to call her that. And the apple filled him with sweetness much like Sakura's. Was this Halloween? Sugar to melt your heart?

* * *

The sixth-graders at Tomoeda Elementary worked very hard that, trying to delight the younger children. Worn out and candy-deprived they collapsed on the grass, very unaware of the surprise laid out for them.

"Those kids are chickens," one boy was mumbling. "Our Haunted House was too scary for them." 

"Then we succeeded," a girl pointed out.

"This kid was _crying._ And her arm was all bloody. A teacher an' me went in to see if something went wrong but we couldn't find anything out of the ordinary. Except…" the boy hesitated.

"What?" one of his friends challenged.

"Well, there was a ton of cat hair lying around. The little girl said there was cats but we didn't have any cats, did we?"

"Must've been a stray that startled them."

"Yup, that's it." The boy was relieved to have an explanation.

A chocolate bar landed on his lap, as with the other children sprawled in the heap. "Hey, what the hell?" More and more bars of candy covered them. There must've been a million pieces, they were drowning in it,

"Mou," they said when uncovered themselves to face the hundreds of grinning children. "Is this all for us?"

"Hai!"

"You guys are so sweet!" Indeed, they were. It was a very sweet day. Even Eriol and Syaoran would have to agree.

* * *

"Tadaima!" Sakura called breathlessly, arriving home. There was no reply. "Where's Oniichan?" His school got out earlier than hers did so he should've been there. "Tadaima! I'm home!" it appeared she was all alone.

Not wanting to be sad, she sat on her bed, feeding Rockets ™ to Kero-chan and retelling the day's events. "Mou, why couldn't I come, Sakura-chan?" whined Kero. "It's sounds like fun."

"Ara, it was!" Sakura's eyes shone bright remembering the way Syaoran said her name. "Sakura…" she whispered. "Hanyaan…"

"Huh? Sakura-chan?"

"Nani? Ara, it was great, Kero-chan, except for the Haunted House." Sakura proceeded to tell her guardian about hers and Syaoran's nightmare.

"It does sound scary. Was it Clow Reed's ki again?" 

"I don't know. I couldn't feel it. It's just, Kero; this seems much too evil to be the same. What's been happening lately has mostly been silly stuff. Except for the elevator, that was scary."

"Yeah, but-"

Kero was interrupted by a loud, 'Tadaima!' from below.

"Oh, Kero-chan! I'll be back soon. Oniichan's home!"

Sakura flung herself off the bed and thundered down the stairs, just like the nickname given by her Oniichan. On a sugar high from the day's tons of candy, her usual genkiness was times by 1000. "Oniichan!" she cried breathlessly. "Welcome home! Did you have a good day at school? I certainly did! We had a fun party all day! I bet you had to do work didn't you? That's okay because I brought you some candy and an apple to make you feel better! 'cept I didn't like the Haunted House much, but I bet you would've. Where were you anyway? Did you get a new job? It wasn't very nice of Hiromi-san to fire you after your first day. That was all my fault, well, I mean, well anyway, it's not fair. So where've you been? Halloween starts in only a few hours!"

Wordlessly, Touya produced a largest, smoothest, roundest, orangish pumpkin that Sakura had ever seen in her whole life. "We need one of these, don't we?" He said.

Sakura flung her arms around him, almost squashing the squash. "Oh, Oniichan! Arigato! That must've cost you a million yen! How could you afford it?"

Touya stepped back. As much as he loved his sister, he wasn't much one for physical touch. "Hey, watch it, kaijuu. And it wasn't quite a million, no where near. I bought it with this week's salary."

"Can we carve it now, Oniichan? Ara, please? And can I help? I know you wouldn't let me help last year, but I'm so much older now. I have the most perfect face we can carve! Wait there!" And like a little whirlwind, Sakura took off, raced up to her bedroom, winked at Kero-chan, grabbed a magazine, and down again she went.

"Here!" She thrust the magazine at her oniichan. "Isn't it perfect?"

The older sibling frowned. "Well, it's certainly evil looking. I guess I can try. They sure put a lot of curves into this guy."

"Uh-huh, but that's what creates the perfect effect! Oh, come, let's get started!" Sakura dragged Touya into the kitchen, anxious to get started. 

Touya cut a large whole in the top, revealing the insides of the fruit (yes, a pumpkin IS a fruit, thanks Webster's). Sakura grinned, dipping her hand into the slimy yellow guck.

"Oh, kaijuu!" Touya sighed, sensing a large mess ahead. "Let me get a bowl and spoon before you start mucking that out."

"Yoroshii!"

* * *

Touya was very orange by the first time the doorbell rang. It was Yukito. "Yuki…" 

"I thought I'd come over here and join you guys for a while," he said. "At least until the kids start coming." He smiled at the state his friend was in.

"The kaijuu got pumpkin guts on me. Honestly, you'd think she'd never used a spoon before."

Yukito laughed, always getting special pleasure from this household. He often liked to pretend Sakura and Touya were his siblings. Oh, it would be nice to have a kawaii little sister like Sakura.

"You're not going trick or treating this year, Yukito-san? Are you just going to stay alone and hand out candy?"

Sakura thought she could catch a glimpse of sadness creep into Yukito's large brown eyes, but perhaps it was only her imagination.

"Hai, someone has to. No kid likes coming to an empty house."

"You could stay here with us. I think Oniichan would like some company because Otousan is working late again tonight."

"Iie, arigato, Sakura-chan. You're very sweet."

"Ara, Yukito-san, would you like to see our jack o' lantern? We decorated the house. Oniichan helped me. I'll show you!" Sakura slipped her small hand into Yukito's larger one and proceeded to give Yukito the tour of the house he was almost as familiar with as his own. 

"Yes, it's very nice, Sakura-chan," Yukito said with a wink to Touya. "How about you go change into your costume now so I can your picture? It's almost time to go out."

"Hai!" Sakura replied with a dreamy look on her face. "Yukito wants to take a picture of me," Sakura told Kero upstairs.

Kero sweat-dropped anime style. "That's great, Sakura-chan. Can I come trick or treating with you?" 

Sakura crossed her arms and shook her head defiantly. "Of course not, Kero-chan. My friends are coming with me and I can't let them see you."

"Eeto, I could pretend to be a nuigurumi," Kero said resignedly. "I mean, this whole Halloween thing sounds fun. Back when I lived with Clow we never really celebrated Halloween the way people today do. Sometimes Clow would light candles and we'd get special treats, but we never went door to door asking for candy."

"No, I don't think that would've been good. Well, don't you think it's funny? I mean, a witch having a teddy bear as her familiar?"

"Not at all. Please, oh please, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura had to admit. Kero looked awfully cute when he begged. Could she really deprive him of this opportunity? "Not a peep," she told him. "You stay on my shoulder and pretend to be stuffed."

"Can't I ride in the candy bag?" Kero asked slyly, cravings stronger than ever.

"No! I need some candy, Kero-chan. Honestly, you'll get fat!"

"Nah, not me. Magical beings can't get fat."

"Oh, I don't know."

Sakura looked over at her clock. Six o'clock. "I'd better hurry," she told the little being. "Tomoyo-chan will be here any minute." She pulled her black dress back on and plopped on the hat. She reapplied her make-up, a little messy since Tomoyo wasn't doing it, but not bad for a kid. "I need a broom!" she cried frantically. "Every witch needs a broom!"

"Try the create card," Kero said calmly, watching her with mild interest. "Nifty little card."

"Oh, yeah." Sakura commanded the card to create an old-fashioned broom for her, which it promptly did as card are expected to do. "There are some real advantages to being the Mistress of the Clow cards, or maybe I should say Sakura cards."

"Don't rely on them too much, Sakura-chan," Kero warned.

"Why not? Could something go wrong?"

"Iie, you'll just get lazy."

The doorbell rang before Sakura had time to retort. "Oh, that's Tomoyo-chan!"

"You don't know for sure."

"Hai, I do!"

Touya stuck his head in the doorway. "Who are you talking to?"

Sakura stuck the guardian behind her back and put on a very suspicious face. "Uh, no one, Oniichan. Just practicing my trick or treating. It's been a whole year since I said it last!"

"Uh-huh. Sure, kaijuu. Anyway, your friend is here. Are you gonna come down or should I just turn her away?"

"Iie, Oniichan!" Sakura brushed past him and ran downstairs.

* * *

After walking around for an hour with half full bags, Sakura and her friends came to Yukito's house. "Ne, I wonder if Yue-san would like to get out for a bit and join us?" Sakura spoke only to the friends who knew her secret. 

Kero shook his head ever so slightly from his perch on her shoulder. "I don't think that's such a good idea, Sakura-chan. Halloween isn't Yue's type of thing. He'd be bored to tears."

"But wouldn't he like to do something normal for a change? I mean, Clow-san didn't create him only to fight, ne?"

"Yue doesn't care about much anymore since Clow-sama passed away. He'd do it if you ordered him to, but he would not enjoy it. 'Halloween is silly and waste of time,'" Kero pretended to imitate the moon guardian.

"Shh, someone will hear you, Kero-chan!" it was true. Chiharu and Naoko were giving Sakura some weird looks. "And don't be so harsh on Yue-san. He just needs to work on his people skills."

Kero rolled his tiny eyes. "He need to work on his living skills."

"That's it!" Sakura stated. "I'm going to ask him! Stay here," she told her friends who weren't listening to her odd conversation. "I'll be back in a minute."

She raced up to the door and rung the bell. It didn't take Yukito long to answer with a bowl full of candy. He waited expectantly for Sakura to say the magic words, but they never came. "Konbanwa, Yukito-san," she did say with a smile. "Are you lonely?"

"Iie, Sakura-chan. I enjoy watching the children. Do you want candy?"

"Actually, I need to talk to someone. Yue, I command you to return to your true form!" Sakura hated to do this to Yukito, one of her most precious friends, but she had consider how lonely Yue must be, cut away from everyone.

Yukito looked a little confused, but soon was enveloped in white wings, and replaced by the moon angel. "Sakura-sama," he replied quietly. "Is something wrong?"

Sakura blushed, suddenly unsure if she was doing the right thing. "Ara, iie, Yue-san. It's Halloween."

"I know that." Was that impatience in his cold blue eyes, or longing? Why was he so unreadable? Clow-san must've loved mysteries.

"Eeto, I'm trick or treating and I thought you might like to join me. It's very fun. Ara, please say yes!"

Yue sighed and looked down at his young mistress. She looked so hopeful; he hated to disappoint her.

"Yue-san, I told you once and I'll tell you again. I want to be friends. I think you'd enjoy this, if you'd just open up a bit. You liked living with Clow-san, ne? Why won't you be friends with me?"

Yue touched her cheek gently, hoping she wouldn't cry. He couldn't stand that. "Of course I'll come, mistress. I do not want to see you unhappy."

Sakura smiled up at him, and took his hand, though inside she knew she had a long way to go. When would Yue ever begin to trust her?

At the bottom of the walkway, where she'd left her friends there was a new arrival. "Hiirigazawa-san! Konbanwa! Will you trick or treat with us?"

"Of course, Kinomoto-san. I wouldn't miss it."

"But where is Nakuru-san and Suppi-chan?" Sakura knew the two would love a night like this. Though a little intimidated by Nakuru, she did enjoy their company. 

Eriol grinned. "I told them to stay home. You how they get, especially Spinel Sun, around candy. Sugar in general. Though entertaining, I can't have them run loose. I see you have a new friend, Kinomoto-san."

"Ara," Sakura brought Yue forward, hoping she wouldn't embarrass him. "Minna-san, this is my friend, Yue."

"Your friend is named 'moon'?" Sakura could hear Chiharu ask. "What an odd name."

"I think it's very mysterious," Naoko said, already working a story around the name. 

* * *

Many hours later Sakura let out a yawn and suggested they all head home. 

"That's a good idea," Rika agreed. "We have school tomorrow."

Everyone growled. "Don't spoil our fun." Rika giggled. "Well, I have to get going. Okaasan I had to be home by ten."

"Hai, me too," Naoko said. "Poltergeist is coming on TV in a few minutes."

"I have no more space in my bag," Chiharu pointed out. "So I'd better go." 

"I'll walk you home," Yamazaki offered. "Do you know of the demons that walk late Halloween night, preying on little girls? You shouldn't walk alone. Any of you." As they disappeared down the street, Yamazaki continued his story, while his girlfriend listened with timeworn patience. 

"Oyasumi nasai!" the children called before heading off their own separate ways. 

"Ja ne, minna-san!" Sakura called. "I see you in school tomorrow!"

Eriol looked at the moon, then at Sakura's smiling face. "I ought to go too. People are expecting me at home as well." 

"Of course. Make sure you let them have at least one candy," Sakura told Eriol. "It's Halloween so they deserve it."

"I'll tell them you said so. Ja!" Eriol walked away, seeming to disappear into the cold night fog.

Syaoran looked at his friends awkwardly. "Ara, I guess I'd better be going too." He gave a rare smile to the little witch in front of him. "I guess I'll see you then."

"Yup." But Sakura didn't want Syaoran to go. "You...you could always come back home with me for awhile," she offered. "We'll stay up late eating junk food and watching scary movies on TV. Won't you be lonely at home?"

The offer was tempting. It really was. "Ano, gomen, Sakura-chan. I really shouldn't. Your 'niichan would probably kill me."

Sakura laughed, her bright bubbly laughed that made everyone around her filled with joy. "Hai! He would." She took his hand in one of her gloved ones and it was hard for Syaoran to resist kissing her. "Oyasumi nasai, Li-kun. You…called me Sakura again."

Blushing as orange as his awkward costume, Syaoran quickly stumbled away. "Ja then Sakura-chan!"

"Does that mean I can call you 'Syaoran-kun?' "She called after him.

What would this mean? What kind of relationship would it symbolize? He couldn't tell her no, not after all they'd been through together. "Hai!"

* * *

"How did I get back to your house, Sakura-chan?" Yukito asked, tired of appearing in odd places. 

"You came over to visit remember? The trick or treaters have dwindled and now we're going to sit in the dark an watch a movie that Otousan rented for us."

"Sounds like fun…" Yukito didn't really mind. He knew he was loved and this house was filled with love. Also, a hidden part of him, for some reason, was oddly alighted with newfound joy.

So Sakura, Tomoyo, Touya, Kero-chan, and Yukito all sat on the couch, curled up into each other with a bowl full of candy and watched the Monster Movie marthathon late into the night. Even Touya had to admit Sakura was a 'cute little kaijuu' when he found her asleep with her head in Tomoyo's lap.

So on this Hallows Eve, what a wonderful night it was. While the jack o' lantern warned to all who may intrude, little children slept and dreamed of what they may be. Sweetness and sugar fill the night, celebrate the demons that haunt our lives and wake up in the morning with a new kind of love.

***********************************************************************************************************************

I'm finally finished! Sorry the end was rushed, minna-san! I hope you all liked this! So have a Happy Halloween, okay, no matter how old you are what you're doing, or whom you choose to spend it with. Halloween is dreaming time for everyone!

__

Translations:

Song 1- 'tis Halloween, the lamp is lit, around the fire, we children sit. A'telling ghost tales bit by bit, till sister Jane says

Song 2- Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate. The first one says, 'oh my it's getting late!' the second one says 'there are witches in the air' the third on says 'but we don't care!

Kaijuu- monster

Kaijuu ja ne- I'm not a monster

Ne- isn't it, true, right, you too,

Oniichan- older brother

Iie- no

Sou-so

Otonagenai- childish, immature

Geretsu- meanie

Imouto- little sister

Otousan- father

Mou- aww

Ohayo (goziimasu) -good morning

Iru onegaishimasu- please come in

Okaasan- mother

Kawaii- cute

Kashin- happy

Oi- hey

Kakkoii- cool

Hai- yes

Ara- ah, oh

Arigato- thanks

Ittemariimasu- I'm leaving

Itterashai- (this is just a response to the above; have a nice day, come back soon)

Sensei- teacher

Gomen nasai- sorry

Nani- what

Hoe- huh

Kodomo- child, kid

Koishii- sweetheart, girlfriend

Itai- pain, ouch

Oishii- yummy

Tadaima- I'm home

Hanyaan- Sakura's made up word for when she's happy

Yoroshii- fine, ok

Eeto- well

Genki- hyper, energetic

Nuigirumi- stuffed toy

Minna-san- everyone

Oyasumi- good night

Ok, I think that's it. I'm sorry if a lot of Japanese bothers people, but I find it makes an anime fic more real.

__


End file.
